10 MUST Have Cooking Tools

Some people , are so clueless about cooking gadgets that they fail to realize how beneficial certain kitchen tools can be. Some cooking tools might even change your life! Yes, CHANGE YOUR LIFE! My cooking experience led me to write this very post; the ten MOST essential cooking tools you will need in your kitchen. For any cooks out there, these are tools you will need in your kitchen to survive, trust me they're so necessary!

I don’t know if it’s just me, but cooking in another person’s kitchen is so nerve racking. There’s something about your own kitchen that allows you to freely flow through cabinets, drawers, and pantries with such ease and grace. Throw me into someone else’s kitchen, and I’m a deer caught in headlights. Being in someone else’s kitchen means, that I have to constantly ask where everything is and have to find ways to improvise if certain kitchen tools are missing. Not to mention the fact that I’m not graciously flowing through my cooking process. I know what you’re thinking, “she’s so dramatic”. Call me dramatic, but there’s just something about not being in my own kitchen that just isn’t the same, almost feels like I’m invading another person’s personal space. A kitchen can be a very precious place.

This past weekend, I was on cooking duty. My boyfriend’s sister was having a game night and I agreed to help her out by adding a dish or two to her menu for the evening. Macaroni and Cheese and Carrot Cake were two dishes I agreed to make. All the ingredients were purchased, and prepping began thereafter. After mincing, dicing, shredding, and sifting I began my Macaroni and Cheese process. Everything was going fairly well until . . . I approached the utensil drawer in search of a whisk. Because it wasn’t my kitchen, I thought I was probably looking in the wrong place, so I asked for assistance in locating the item. Imagine my facial expression when my boyfriend’s mother told me she didn’t own a whisk. Not one whisk in sight at her house. I was shocked! Then I realized, maybe they never thought a whisk was an item they would benefit from, let alone need in their kitchen.

Some people , are so clueless about cooking gadgets that they fail to realize how beneficial certain kitchen tools can be. Some cooking tools might even change your life! Yes, CHANGE YOUR LIFE! My cooking experience led me to write this very post; the ten MOST essential cooking tools you will need in your kitchen. For any cooks out there, these are tools you will need in your kitchen to survive, trust me they’re sooooo necessary!

1.Whisk: Useful to add air into any mixture and is great for mixing and combining ingredients that would normally not hold together properly. I suggest you spend a little bit more money and purchase a good quality whisk that will last you a lifetime. I purchased a 99 Cent Store whisk once and it died on me that same day. It was a very sad sight to see. The metal was very weak and it bent on me while making frosting. Always buy quality products!

2. Strainer: Useful for draining foods such as pasta and rice. This tool can sometimes be referred to as a sieve. Definitely a must have! I mean who doesn’t love rice and pasta?!

3. Cast Iron Skillet: This is definitely a tool that was made in heaven. It would be the only explanation I could come up with as to why it’s so amazing. A cast iron pan is made out of iron, which means it can take a good amount of heat and well distributes heat. It’s very hard to find a pan that even distributes heat throughout the pan while cooking. It’s also very versatile and can be used to make a variety of dishes. Last but not least, it saves money on soap. Cast Iron skillets should not be washed with soap because it takes away from it’s natural oils, so a good swipe with a damp cloth will do it.

4. Measuring Cups & Spoons: If you love to bake, and experiment with recipes these measuring tools are essential. This is not the stone age, and unless you’re someone with a lot of experience with measuring ingredients, it’ll be impossible for you to measure exact ingredients without these.

5. Wooden Spoon: Useful for stirring, combining ingredients, and tasting as you cook. There are many different spoons you may have in your kitchen, but a wooden spoon is necessary. Having a wooden spoon in your kitchen has many benefits. Stirring with a stainless steel spoon, can cause scratches on the sides and bottoms of your very expensive pots and cookware, which is something a wooden spoon does not. It also does not overheat as do other kinds of spoons that tend to burn your hand when rested on hot cookware, and/or burn your tongue while your tasting your dishes.

6. Peeler: When it comes to carrots, potatoes, and other vegetables, we all know that peeling with a knife can be very annoying. Peeling with a knife can also remove some of the much needed flesh from some of the vegetables you’re peeling. Using a peeler just makes life a lot easier.

7. Thermometer: This tool is useful when your’e cooking different types of meat and when you’re looking for specific temperatures for certain recipes. Under cooked meat is not something you would want to serve your guess, let alone eat but sometimes cooking meat can be so strenuous and you kind of guess along the way whether the meat is done or not. This tool allows you to know the correct temperature, and removes that uncertainty.

8. Kitchen Shears (Scissors): This tool can be useful for cutting chicken, cutting herbs, and also to cut foil or parchment paper when needed. Shears really have many purposes and can be used for anything in the kitchen.

9. Mixing Bowls: This tool is actually one of the most important tools to have in your kitchen. It allows you to mix ingredients for baking, for dinner prep, to marinade, and to just about combine anything. I use mixing bowls a lot for baking. Baking usually calls for mixing some of your ingredients in separate bowls, which would be impossible if you only had one.

10. Sharp Chef’s Knife: I can’t emphasize enough how awesome it is to have a great quality knife. It really is life changing. Cheap knives usually are not as sharp and can actually add time to your cooking process. Before a chef’s knife changed my life, I would have to put a lot more force into cutting and sometimes had to go through the same section more then once to ensure a good cut. A chef’s knife can really make your food look so much better and can be very beneficial in cooking.

Hope my tips helped in some way. Now, get to cooking some amazing and heavenly food!